A Feeling of Newness . . .

There's a bit of spring in the air. And a spring in my step.

I've begun to ease into our new lifestyle -- at a new, slower pace -- and it's beginning to feel good. Actually, GREAT!

I'm back into some things that I've always found to be precious...but always told myself, I didn't have (or deserve) time for "now."

I'm reading again. For pleasure. (Did I hear a gasp?) With only the crackle of the fire in the woodstove, or maybe a bit of classical music playing quietly in the background, I'm luxuriating in the pages of books. And I'm lovin' it! A good friend recently recommended "Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" (by Shaffer & Barrows) and it's delightful. I just finished Carol Ann Lee's The Winter of the World. I've got a huge pile of books I want to read. Can't wait.



I'm giving myself permission to knit and rughook. I'm working again on Dean's rug (actually, it'll be a wallhanging) and it's great fun to see the progress! Here are the rooster and the bunny.













I've started this sweater for our daughter-in-law in this delicious yarn; it's baby alpaca, wool, linen in a very soft terra-cotta color.










We're going to the opera! I'm so excited -- we have a "Live from the Met" theater in nearby Ellsworth. To celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary, we have tickets (Al's such a good sport!) for this Friday evening's encore performance of Thais. (O.K., admittedly this one won't be really live!) Then, I'm seeing Madame Butterfly with a friend in early March. I haven't seen an opera in about twenty-five years, have started listening to opera much more, and I am prepared to be thrilled.

I've rediscovered my love of cooking and baking. And I've tried canning for the first time ever! There's nothing like homemade blueberry or peach jam, and there are LOTS of vegetables and grains that I've found surprisingly yummy. I try at least a couple of new recipes each week. Granted, much of this is due to the contagious enthusiasm and creativity of two other women in the kitchen -- our daughter, Bethany, and our daughter-in-law, Laurelyn. They've inspired me to explore some wonderful new flavors and fabulous new recipes. (Disclaimer: You know you have way too much time on your hands when you actually spend part of a morning sorting, hole-punching, and filing all of those printed-out recipes into a nifty new notebook---WITH DIVIDERS!)

I spend a good deal of time watching the birds. This week, they've become incredibly active --- perhaps it's the boding of spring. I won't delude myself into thinking we're done with the snow quite yet. But I do know that within the next few weeks, we'll put the chickadee house and its webcam out in the yard! Last spring, while still in NH, we thoroughly enjoyed closely following Mr. and Mrs. Chickadee and their 7 little hatchlings; Al wired the webcam to our TV and we'd check in on them constantly. With all the chickadee activity here in Bass Harbor, we may need to put up several nesting boxes.

Tiny patches of dirt peek through the ice and snow in the driveway. Tiny buds bedazzle birches. The air smells clean. Each new day holds such promise. Life is good.